Leading Beyond Lean The Seven Drivers of Productivity

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Leading Beyond Lean
The Seven Drivers of Productivity 
Petter Østbø
Mark Wetherill
Robin Cattermole
ISBN 978-1-349-94947-2 ISBN 978-1-349-94948-9 (eBook) 
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-94948-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948386
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016
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— 3 —
 
Contents
Why you should read this book ...............................................................7
1. UCo, its People and the Right Productivity System .....................18
2. Defining and Understanding the Core Lean Tools ........................44
3. Managing Implementation ........................................................88
4. Human Resources (HR) Essentials for Productivity ...................101
5. Business Planning .................................................................112
6. Incentivizing Improvement ......................................................128
7. Long-Term Planning ...............................................................137
8. Safety Management and the Link to Productivity ......................143
9. Ensure Continuous Improvement ............................................157
10. The Most Important Theme of All—Culture .............................164
11. Lessons Learned, Case Studies from UCoPS ...........................170
Glossary and Abbreviations ................................................................178
Appendix: Self-Assessment Checklist ..................................................188
Appendix: Steering Document ............................................................193
Index ...............................................................................................200
— 4 —
 
Concepts Illustrated
Page
51 5S
64 OEE
66 OEE Example
16 Options for Increasing Productivity
15 Productivity Improvement Triangle
71 Typical Preventive Maintenance Systems
Toolkit
127 An Agile Labor Model
115 Annual Business Plan
125 Capacity Planning
56 Combining Techniques—the Single Point Lesson
55 Essentials of Good Visual Management
133 Factory Scorecard/KPIs
103 Good On-Boarding
61 Hands-On Process Mapping
97 How to Identify and Select a Lean Multiplier
33 Lean Manufacturing Principles
91 Line Management Role
33 PDCA
70 Preventive Maintenance System
51 Remembering 5S
139 Road Map
23 Self-Assessment Questionnaire
107 Skills Matrix
42 The Waste Walk
148 UCo, Our Essential Safety Management Tools
123 Way of Working
— 5 —
 
Top Tips 
Page
37 80-20
65 Accurately Record All Lost Time
69 Asset Care
110 Bradford Sickness Index/ Bradford Formula
94 Buy-In
141 Capital Spend Database
36 Choosing Where to Start
28 Competent Operational Managers
162 Continuous Improvement Teams
73 Continuous Improvement/Kaizen Boards
118 Create an Agreed Way of Working
109 Creating a Feedback and Coaching Culture
163 Employee Rotation
24 Employee-Satisfaction Survey
72 Go to the Gemba!
146 Golden Rules
90 Implementation from Bottom and Top
42 In the Picture
95 It Requires Communication
136 KPIs
27 Lean and the People Perspective
30 Lean Mentality
28 Lean Needs Solid Foundations
52 Macro 5S
54 Make it Visual
104 Make Training Relevant to the Site and Individual
151 Manage Productivity Like You Manage Safety
— 6 —
 
Top Tips continued
Page
97 On-Site Buy-In
50 Order at a Glance
49 Order First, Lean Afterwards
100 Performance Longevity
136 Performance Reporting
125 Productive Surcharges
127 Reducing Complexity
87 Root-Cause Analyses
122 Sales Forecasting
131 Short-Term Incentives
108 Skills Management
80 SMED
56 Standard Operating Procedures
23 Steering Document
52 Sustaining Housekeeping
71 Systematic Maintenance
120 The Importance of Planning
86 Why Only Five Whys?
66 Wider Overall Equipment Effectiveness
— 7 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
If you want to learn more about productivity—and who doesn’t? 
—then this book is for you. If you want to achieve greater 
productivity, it will guide you through the essential steps to get 
you there. Along the way, it will help you understand how to set 
up and manage the full range of efficiency, organizational and 
financial initiatives that make up the ideal bespoke productivity 
system—and then how to extract the best returns. Whatever 
the size and scale of your business, finding new ways to 
improve productivity is a constant. For example:
 
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 manufacturing, but not seen the tools put to use. 
Whichever of these applies most to you, this book will take you 
through all of the steps and procedures an organization needs 
— 8 —
to put in place to develop a fully functioning productivity system 
that helps to drive your business to new levels. 
Do not be frightened. You do not need a team of consultants 
or a degree in Japanese to make this happen. Nor do you need 
an operation with hundreds of employees for this book to be 
of value to you. The approach recommended here has been 
successfully applied to sites with fixed costs ranging from under 
USD 1 million per annum up to tens of millions, helping to bring 
about safety and performance benefits that last. 
With this book, you will learn how to set up a holistic produc-
tivity system that adapts to individual site characteristics, whilst 
still retaining overall standards and controls. Use it to start 
your own journey to greater productivity.
— 9 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
Common Pain Points
You may already have a suspicion that things could be done better 
within your own operational units. If you recognize any of these 
productivity pain points or other similar issues, this book is for you.
Variability
You have a range of sites with different sizes, different levels of 
expertise, different cultures, different legacies and different ways of 
working—eachhaving to solve its problems by itself. But they are all 
united by one vision: to have higher profitability, fewer safety issues, 
more motivated employees and sustainable futures. 
Lack of Oversight
Performance reporting is not truly visible at sites or higher levels in 
the organization, and costs are creeping up. Operational problems 
are not highlighted or escalated. Best practice is not shared across 
sites, let alone actively encouraged. This prevents you from easily 
identifying and rectifying performance issues. Local initiatives may 
not be rewarded nor learning shared. Complexity is increasing. More 
and more time is spent addressing seemingly trivial issues, preventing 
your company from focusing on your customers’ and shareholders’ 
needs. 
Lack of Productivity Management Expertise
You may be witnessing a pattern of frequent equipment breakdowns, 
excessive manual handling, too much re-work, lower-than-desired 
quality and frequent customer complaints. Possibly you do not see the 
anticipated rewards from recent investments. 
Lack of Employee Development
On the human-resources side, you see little evidence of structured 
training and performance management or of opportunities for 
personal development. You may have a higher-than-normal turnover 
of employees and employee satisfaction is probably not high nor 
regularly measured.
— 10 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
Safety Weaknesses
Safety performance is not at the level you are targeting. Issues may 
become visible only when serious accidents occur. You know that 
reported incidents are just the tip of the iceberg and suspect that other 
safety issues, and even accidents, may be underplayed or even escape 
being logged. The lack of a true safety focus not only skews the statistics, 
but also makes it difficult to identify and solve underlying issues.
Lack of Time and Resources
You know you need a process for overall productivity improvement 
and you want it fast. At the same time, you recognize it will be 
impossible for you personally to spend enough time visiting each site 
to align its processes and ways of working. 
But you know things need to change if obstacles such as the above are 
to be dealt with and the pain of poor productivity removed.
The Payoffs
Change for change’s sake serves no purpose. It must be driven by the 
needs of the business. Moreover, any improvement program, par-
ticularly one as far-reaching as a holistic productivity system, needs 
firm objectives and a reasonable prospect of valuable gains. So what 
can you expect, if you pull together and bring this system to life in 
your site? Experience proves that the payoff will come both in safety 
and productivity. As a result, sites become more economically vi-
able, frequently evolving from “problem sites” with uncertain futures 
into vibrant sites that attract reinvestment and growth. They become 
cleaner, safer and better organised, and therefore more attractive 
places to work in. More frequent measurement, performance moni-
toring and problem-solving demand greater employee involvement. 
Consequently, employees can clearly see the impact and value of their 
efforts. Not only that, but they can also see that others recognize their 
contribution, so motivation increases across the site. It is not uncom-
mon to see an attitude of indifference turning into real pride in the job 
and what has been achieved. Finally, the structure, standardization 
and reporting mean that management has greater control, can make 
better decisions and effect more timely intervention than previously. 
— 11 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
Also, a further benefit is that any acquisitions can be integrated and 
synergies gained faster with a holistic productivity system in place.
On-Site Look and Feel
How do you know you are succeeding? A site with a good 
productivity system in place is inherently calm and smooth running, 
with little fuss and firefighting. Performance measurement is clearly 
evident, particularly on the shop floor. It is obvious where everything 
is and equipment will always be in good working order. Even 
more importantly, you know how your resources will be deployed 
tomorrow, next week and beyond, because you have planned it that 
way in advance.
Standards and Flexibility
The framework for a holistic productivity system should be adaptable 
to the specific characteristics and requirements of individual sites. 
Many potentially efficient plants are stifled, because they are forced 
to conform to a “standard” system that makes no concessions to 
individual characteristics that may actually be the source of its 
competitive advantage. 
The Productivity System
We’re going to look at a system—which we are calling the 
UniversalCo Productivity System—or UCoPS—that embodies this 
principle of adaptability. In other words, it is absolutely clear in 
terms of what is required as an outcome or standard, but not overly 
prescriptive on the exact method of deployment. 
The Truths Behind the UniversalCo 
Approach
The story of UniversalCo (UCo) describes one company’s journey 
toward productivity. The story embraces many challenges along the 
way and explains how the productivity system’s goals were attained. 
A fictitious company, yes, but one that will be familiar and with which 
you can identify. Why? Because, in many ways, it is your story, too.
So let’s have a closer look at this company, from the inside. UCo is a 
— 12 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
global industrial manufacturing business with an extensive network of 
logistics and production sites spread around the world. 
Its story is based on the experiences of a real company and real people 
over a period of a couple of years. As with virtually every successful 
business in the world today, Lean plays a large part in its thinking and 
the way it operates and plans for the future. 
More than Lean
What may surprise you is that UCo does not regard Lean as the 
only driving force of its productivity system. It recognizes that the 
successful implementation of such a system demands the merging of 
multiple elements, of which Lean is one. 
The seven key elements that combine to create UCoPS are:
1. Safety
2. Employee development
3. Business planning
4. Capital spending
5. Performance management
6. Quality 
7. Lean
The success of the company’s approach does, however, also demand 
that you have people with Lean insight who are able to translate 
standard Lean methodology into something manageable and 
appropriate within the overall productivity system. You, and they, 
will also need a thorough understanding of the business processes that 
influence productivity not only within a pure production environment 
but also from other areas that impact productivity, such as supply 
chain and human-resource management. 
What you don’t need is an over-reliance on the jargon of Lean. 
Understand that Lean is simple, good operational common sense: 
nothing more complicated than adding value and systematically 
eliminating waste. 
Successful implementation of the principles described in this 
— 13 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
book is more easily achieved if you keep the tools, processes and 
communication simple and resist the temptation to bombard 
employees with unnecessary labels.
You might, for example, want to consider reducing the Japanese 
terminology around Lean and focus instead on its practical, clear-
cut and systematic aspects. Because nothing about Lean needs to be 
mystical, complicated or expensive. 
The UCo productivity system is holistic in nature and supports the 
company by “operationalizing strategy.” In other words, it creates 
a clear flow from the more strategic elements, such as road maps 
and business plans, through to factory performance boards and the 
minute-by-minute performance monitoring on theshop floor. It aligns 
these with safety, quality, employee development and continuous 
improvement processes. All the system’s parts are interlinked, with 
the efficiency of one dependent on the other—together they create 
productivity.
Stagger the Approach
When implementing a productivity system, quite a lot can be achieved 
in a short time, providing you have a receptive audience and tailor the 
introduction of tools and procedures to the reality on the ground.
You typically get 80% of the performance from 20% of the efforts 
in any change process. Therefore, start with the most important 
improvement tools and get everyone up to a good standard swiftly; 
save the more advanced and complicated techniques, and the move 
toward perfection, for later. Don’t aim for absolute perfection from 
day one.
Of course, sites vary in their readiness to implement productivity 
improvements. A site needs to be, at the very least, stable and operat-
ing soundly to reap the full benefits from implementing a productiv-
ity system. At sites that are well functioning, for instance, you can 
normally go full speed ahead and target rapid complete implementa-
tion. At other sites, with greater challenges, it will usually be a case of 
carrying out a fast-track improvement of “housekeeping” to put the 
— 14 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
basics in place first. The foundation of any operational improvement 
program is always a clean, tidy and organized workplace, and every-
thing else flows from there.
People
Changes to the way people work are often greeted with initial skepti-
cism, and even resistance from some quarters. Unless the right people 
are seen to be endorsing and supporting change, this can be difficult 
to overcome. For your improvement processes to succeed, you will 
need the full support of senior management and the involvement of 
local site managers, especially when it comes to implementing what 
has been agreed. Unless that happens, local management may feel 
change is being forced upon them. Therefore, make sure you get buy-
in at an early stage and keep your eye on ensuring that your hard-won 
buy-in does not waiver along the way. 
In practice, what you need to do is to find the people who are willing 
to learn and willing to change, and to invest in them. There will often 
be a few who are not willing to do so, despite support, coaching and 
clear reasons to make the transition. It’s a harsh reality, but for their 
own good and that of the company, they might find working else-
where better suited to their needs. At the same time, there will also be 
individuals on the shop floor who are receptive early adopters. Invest 
in them and you will be well rewarded.
It Doesn’t Have to Cost Much—But Sometimes It Does 
The majority of the tools and processes described in this book 
require little or no capital investment—most are achievable through 
mental and physical effort. What is required, though, is investment 
of management time and a strong commitment to coaching and 
communication.
In essence, improving productivity is not always about capital 
investment—you often get most effect from improving how you work 
with what you have.
— 15 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
The “Sometimes it does cost” proviso has two elements. First, it 
means that when you do invest, do so wisely in equipment that is 
correctly specified for the scale of the operation or process, and 
therefore entirely fit for purpose. Saving one dollar on investment 
can lose you ten dollars over the lifetime of the investment. Secondly, 
it is a matter of sequence: at the start of the implementation, you 
will usually get little improvement from new machines, but plenty 
from better operations, so you naturally start there. Think of it like 
learning to ride a bicycle: there is quite a long period of learning 
before the bike becomes the limiting factor. Sometimes, however, 
the equipment really is not up to the task. Maybe you have an 
unbalanced production line where one machine is too slow to keep 
up, or an old, badly maintained site where a lot of investment is 
needed in basic infrastructure, such as buildings, roofing, handrails, 
footbridges, roadways, etc., to get the place up to standard. Of 
course, as time goes by and your site is operating at maximum 
efficiency, you will get to a point where investments are sensible, i.e., 
when the marginal return from improving “as is” is smaller than the 
incremental return from investing.
Major 
Capex
Small Scale
Investment
Minor Fixes/Repairs
Improved Systems/Controls
Operational Discipline
Concepts Illustrated: Productivity Improvement Triangle 
— 16 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
Authors
Petter Østbø—Business Unit Director, Initiator of the Yara 
Productivity System 
“In any collection of factories, there will be good practices and there 
will be poor. However, you will be unlikely to find one site that 
is as good as or better than others in all aspects. Relying on local 
employees to develop best practices from scratch at every site will not 
only yield poor results, but is unfair to the employees. The benefit 
from reducing complexity cannot be overvalued.”
Mark Wetherill—Factory Manager, Lean Expert and Content 
Lead
“By demystifying Lean, we make it more understandable, more 
accessible and more relevant to us. By emphasizing the common sense 
elements of Lean and its adaptability, we make it far more powerful 
and collaborative.”
More
Costs
More
Sweat
Eliminate
Waste
How to Increase
Productivity
Volume-Related
Approach
More 
Employees
More 
Machines
Longer
Workdays
Work Harder
Work Smarter
Quality-Related
Approach
Concepts Illustrated: Options for Increasing Productivity
— 17 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
Robin Cattermole—Global Operations Director, Yara Productivity 
System Architect 
“The implementation of improvement projects always makes major 
demands upon everyone involved. But there will be far less risk, less 
pain and far more sense of achievement if you pay as much attention 
to site culture as you do to site processes. Get the communication 
right and you will get easier acceptance of changes and even 
enthusiasm for further improvements.” 
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Egil Hogna, for being supportive of the establishment of 
the productivity system and for the initial proofreading of this book. 
Mehdi Saint-Andre, Chris Lindley, Vanessa Diaz, Jorge Borselli, Jose 
Antonio Benevente, David Tomkinson and Marcus Guerra for be-
ing the early adopters. Rodrigo Santana for his true knowledge and 
understanding of the subject that has been tapped fully into. Neil 
Douglas for his appreciation of productivity linked to safety. Gilles 
Raskopf for his valuable input on advanced productivity. Aivar 
Künnapuu for helping to keep UCo live and driving the communica-
tion required for a successful productivity system. As well as the many 
others who have helped shape the continuing development of the 
UCoPS. And a final thanks from Mark and Robin to Petter. Without 
your continual chasing and, in the latter stages, fantastic deadline 
management, the book would never have been finished.
The rest of the book is set out as a fictional narrative following the 
design, implementation and rollout of a productivity system based 
on a true implementation exercise. The narrative is accompanied 
throughout by a selection of top tips and toolkit examples to help 
explain the productivity concepts and ways of working introduced in 
UCo. We trust that you will find it interesting and helpful in your own 
journey to productivity.
— 18 —
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
1.
UCo, its People 
and the Right
Productivity
System
— 18 —
— 19 —
Aksel is the CEO of UCo and he is becoming more and 
more concerned about the company’s competitivenessin 
a challenging global market. He has recently brought in 
Gary as the company’s operations director, a new executive 
position, on the strength of his performance at a world-class 
manufacturing company in Canada. Gary’s role is essentially to 
ensure safety and productivity performance across UCo and 
his first assignment is to assess what he feels is required to 
improve both the company’s safety performance and its cost 
competitiveness. Based on his discussions with Aksel, Gary 
knows that there is a need to streamline operations and bring 
consistent standards to a range of sites working under very 
different conditions.
As part of his induction and linked to his first assignment, Gary 
has visited sites across five continents on a whirlwind fact-
finding trip; he has seen for himself some of the common pain 
points, such as a lack of productivity measures, inadequate 
employee development, unacceptable housekeeping and unsafe 
conditions that are clearly going unreported. Although he 
identified a number of obvious productivity weaknesses, he 
also witnessed some good examples of best practices. Even 
so he has had to admit that it was immediately clear to him 
that there are no common working procedures or standards to 
unite the wider organization.
On the plane home, Gary isn’t sure whether the airborne 
wireless Internet service is a blessing or a curse: his boss and 
UCo director Aksel has e-mailed him. Known as much for his 
THE BEGINNING
— 20 —
liking of rapid action as his focus on structured improvement 
programs, Aksel asks Gary to report on the state of the 
company’s operational network, comprising almost 100 plants. 
With no hard comparative data to draw on, Gary can see he’s 
in for a difficult time.
From his background, Gary knows what’s needed and has the 
experience to develop a bespoke productivity system that will 
answer the performance, safety and governance challenges 
at a fundamental level. He’s seen them in action and he knows 
what is required to set one up. He is fairly certain he could get 
the approvals and the budget to do it. But he also knows that 
it is no small undertaking, given the scope of the operation 
and the limits of both his time and the company’s willingness 
to invest. He has got to find a way of managing it efficiently, 
producing good results at an early stage without either breaking 
the bank or overly impacting his home life. 
Leaving the airport in a preoccupied state of mind, Gary can’t 
help noticing a familiar sight: crowds of tired tourists trying to 
work out exactly where they are supposed to queue for a taxi. 
“Why,” he ponders, “is it so difficult to buy a bit of paint and 
mark out where the people should stand, and which direction 
they should face? It would just take half an hour to inject order 
into chaos.” Of course, he realizes what has prompted this 
thought: he’s been thinking about Lean and how it could help 
him drive the new productivity framework through the UCoPS 
— 21 —
network. He can see the parallels only too clearly. The common 
sense approach that would solve the airport’s problems is also 
typical of the clear, rational thinking that would really get the 
UCoPS in motion. Gary knows that Lean will definitely be his 
engine of change and he knows exactly what sort of individual 
fits the bill to put what is required into place. 
Gary knows that he can create the architecture of UCoPS 
and make sure it addresses all the key top-level performance 
issues, including employee development, quality and safety 
management, as well as the need for strong business planning, 
performance management and understanding what customers 
value. Also he knows that he does not have the time or the 
background to handle the whole UCoPS implementation 
himself—he will need help with the key aspects relating to 
Lean. He is a business school graduate, and while he has 
a sound operational background, he does not have recent 
shop floor or true Lean implementation experience. Without 
that familiarity he is aware that it would be harder to carry 
operations people with him. To make sure that UCoPS gets 
the time, dedication and expertise it needs, he is going to 
have to find an enthusiastic person with front-line operational 
experience to help implement the productivity system and, in 
particular, get the key Lean aspects implemented successfully. 
First, before progressing any recruiting, he is absolutely certain 
that if UCoPS is to succeed he must get UCoPS appropriately 
anchored in the company.
— 22 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
Anchoring the System at the Heart of 
the Company
Gary has already in his first few weeks with the company become 
aware that UCo has a high-level steering system that outlines the 
mandatory rules and operating standards that its units must follow. 
In UCo the steering system contains all the normal components that 
you would expect to see at an industrial company operating globally. 
It is heavily loaded toward safety, some key financial and HR issues 
are targeted as well as many documents covering the essentials around 
governance and compliance. However in UCo as is normal in similar 
companies the steering system fails to cover productivity issues in a 
holistic manner. 
One positive aspect of the UCo culture, Gary has learned, is that if 
something is described in the steering system it tends to get followed. 
Gary is aware that for his productivity system to be a success he needs 
to get it anchored in the company at the right level. He knows that 
Aksel is supportive, which is a very good start, but he also knows that 
he must find a way of getting his productivity system anchored into 
the steering system. This will be a vital signal to the organization that 
there is nothing optional about UCoPS and hence ensure its success. 
Gary gets to work and drafts his UCoPS steering system document 
detailing the high-level architecture of the productivity system. As 
Gary is clear in his own mind what is required, it does not take 
long. After first getting a few key UCo operational managers to 
proofread the document to help future buy-in and check that it makes 
operational sense, Gary sends the draft to Aksel. 
Aksel is immediately supportive and, following inclusion of a few 
of his suggestions, he and Gary close the formalities and get the 
documents published.
— 23 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
The UCoPS steering system document goes live and becomes the 
implementation bible. Quite simply, what is written in the document 
is what will be implemented. Gary has got the mandate he needed.
Top Tip—Steering Document
Whether your organization has a sophisticated steering system 
or not, it is essential to begin the journey to productivity by 
documenting what you are trying to achieve and by anchoring 
this at the right level. This will help make sure everyone is 
aligned. Consider documenting in a vertical format, such as 
Word, rather than in a presentation, such as PowerPoint. There 
is sometimes nothing better than a good old-fashioned memo 
to get your point across (see page 193, Appendix: Steering 
Document). 
Toolkit—Self-Assessment Questionnaire
 
How do you measure that your productivity system 
implementation is progressing in line with expectations? To 
measure progress, you need to have a baseline to start measuring 
from. A good way to do this is for the sites to perform a self-
assessment. In the UCoPS, the sites are asked to assess themselves 
honestly in the format of a scorecard to get an initial starting 
measure across all key areas of the UCoPS.
This scorecard will be updated and progress monitored over time. 
The challenge here is to get the balance right between introducing 
administrative burden and ensuring essentialprogress monitoring. 
Target setting and progress monitoring are a continuous theme in 
any productivity system. In UCoPS, performance monitoring and 
continuous improvement never stops.
 
— 24 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
Top Tip—Employee-Satisfaction Survey
 
Consider doing some sort of employee-satisfaction survey as part 
of the early implementation. This will be a powerful benchmark 
against which progress can be measured. It can also help convince 
skeptics that things are going well.
Finding the Right Person
With the anchoring UCoPS and the steering document behind him, 
Gary reverts to his key recruitment need. 
Gary knows he will need help in implementing UCoPS successfully, 
especially Lean. He knows the right person will be as much a “lean 
navigator” as an implementation manager, finding the smoothest 
and most direct route to a successful outcome in each of the plants 
that come on board. This navigator will have the experience and 
expertise to translate the high-level principles and purposes of Lean 
into something that is immediately comprehensible to people working 
in each of these plants. He or she must be able to tailor the general 
framework of the UCoPS to answer the needs of individual sites, 
using what is relevant and not wasting time on processes that add 
little value. Finally, the navigator must be able to recognize processes 
that already work well and efficiently at each site and make sure that 
they are captured to develop the productivity system itself. 
Gary draws up a mental checklist of the kind of person he is looking 
for. Ideally, someone with an operational background—a former 
plant, factory or shift manager, or an industrial engineer—who will 
be convincing on the shop floor. Someone with a knack for handling 
people and an understanding of the production processes on site will 
immediately have the kind of credibility that would take far longer for 
someone without operational knowledge to achieve.
— 25 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
Gary knows that he wants someone with Lean expertise, but also 
recognizes that he must avoid hiring someone whose Lean philosophy 
smacks of a theoretical and “one-size-fits-all” solution. The ideal 
candidate will have practical, hands-on experience of implementing 
Lean according to the needs of individual sites. He will also need to 
be aware of potential cultural obstacles and be prepared to negotiate 
a path through the difficulties that will inevitably arise when a central 
unit is perceived to be “imposing” itself on line organizations. The 
candidate should know that the productivity system will need to 
achieve a careful balance of support from both the shop floor and 
management. 
Gary recognizes that it isn’t practical to spend more than one day 
a week supporting the UCoPS implementation himself. With a lean 
navigator on board, however, the company will have someone who 
is dedicated to the program full-time, ready to visit sites, to provide 
guidance and to solve both collective issues and those that are specific 
to individual units. Basically, an expert resource to ensure that the 
Lean requirements in the productivity system are implemented 
successfully and subsequently thrive.
Gary gets back to his boss, Aksel, and explains his overall plan, 
making it clear how the components of the productivity system 
interlock. He also tells him that someone with good Lean experience 
will be required to ensure that the whole process starts out on the 
right footing. Most of all, he stresses the need for full executive 
support. If everyone involved is clear that there is top-level focus on 
the program and strong pressure to make the whole thing work, it 
will maintain momentum even when things get tough. Without that 
support, it is likely that progress will stall almost from the start. Aksel 
agrees not only to give UCoPS his full backing, but to also make sure 
that the entire organization knows that he is committed to its success. 
Aksel and Gary work together to identify a few potential pilot sites. 
They also plan the rollout process and the mechanism by which they 
will update and tune their approach as they gather experience and 
information.
— 26 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
Introducing UCo’s People 
CEO—Aksel
A top-level executive, Aksel has seen the benefits that Lean and agile 
operations can bring. Aksel puts Lean implementation in his units 
at the top of his list of priorities, alongside safety, the need to be 
competitive and clear financial reporting. 
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR—Gary
Recently hired as UCo’s operations director, a new executive position, 
Gary is ultimately responsible for the implementation of the produc-
tivity system. He has a sound operational background and is aware 
of Lean and what it can do but is no Lean expert. He must make it 
happen. All sites report to Gary in a matrix. 
LEAN NAVIGATOR—Britta
She is the expert who trains the trainers—or “lean multipliers”—at 
each site and coordinates their efforts to sustain the productivity 
system. She is appointed by and reports to Gary. 
SITE MANAGER—Alejandro
As site manager, Alejandro runs his operation well and has a firm 
grasp of the essentials for a productive plant. He is open-minded to 
Lean as a way of formalizing and structuring these common sense 
measures into a framework to get even more productivity out of the 
site. 
SITE MANAGER—Daniel
Responsible for managing UCo’s facility in Canada, with the best 
safety record of all UCo’s sites.
LEAN MULTIPLIER—Rodrigo
A bright and enthusiastic site employee from UCo’s first implementa-
tion site, he is responsible for helping to sustain the productivity-im-
provement efforts after Britta has completed the initial training pro-
cess. In UCo, each unit (or sub-group of units) needs a lean multiplier, 
who is networked and coordinated by the lean navigator.
— 27 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
PRODUCTION OPERATOR—Joachim
A senior and experienced operator who is excellent at fault-fixing/
firefighting. He enjoys prestige and respect among his coworkers and 
is influential in issues regarding the site. Britta tries to find employees 
like Joachim at each site supporting the lean multiplier. 
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, SAFETY AND QUALITY MANAGER—Kristine
The head of UCo’s Health, Environment, Safety and Quality 
department (HESQ). She sees the sense of integrating the practices 
and tools used in the area of HESQ with the ones in use in the 
productivity system, as well as the benefits of having common HESQ/
productivity goals.
Top Tip—Lean and the People Perspective 
 
Most successful productivity-system implementations have a 
clear chain of responsibility and this is something that UCo fully 
intends to establish across its operations, namely: 
 • A top-level executive (Aksel) who is aware of the benefits 
 of a productivity system and considers such a tool to be an 
 essential part of a successful business.
 • An operations director (Gary) who has line or matrix 
 responsibility for units and ultimate responsibility for the 
 productivity-system implementation, and has an appreciation 
 for and awareness of the benefits that Lean brings to 
 operations. Someone who truly believes in continuous 
 improvement.
 • A lean navigator (Britta) who is experienced in the practical 
 application of Lean techniques and their implementation.
 • Site managers (Alejandro and Daniel) who value common 
 sense, are receptive to change and see the power of 
 continuous improvement.
 • Every site should have a Lean champion, typically called a 
 lean multiplier (Rodrigo). These multipliers help form the 
 critical mass of Lean expertise and the continuity.
— 28 —
UCO, ITSPEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
And, finally, you cannot make real progress toward your goals 
without enthusiastic converts (Joachim), who you will identify 
as the program is rolled out. It will also become clear how 
productivity is linked to safety, and the local safety manager 
responsible will also most likely become one of the early 
champions. 
 
Top Tip—Competent Operational Managers
 
Make sure that you have competent operational managers. One 
of the first rules of any successful productivity system is that 
it’s just not possible to achieve your goals without such people. 
Using operational common sense, leadership skills and a sound 
knowledge of “how things work” across the unit, these managers 
can make a vital contribution to developing the systematic and 
structured approach needed. Lean typically yields efficiency 
improvements that clearly reward time spent and the best 
operational managers will make the most of this. One thing that 
Lean is not is a “spare time” activity—it needs to be at the heart 
of every working day and a regular part of your operations.
Top Tip—Lean Needs Solid Foundations
 
You can achieve quite a lot in a short time—providing you have a 
receptive audience. Lean builds on sound foundations. It does not 
create sound foundations. If you are tripping over material and 
cannot find your tools, you need to improve your housekeeping 
before trying to introduce more advanced Lean tools. Get your 
house in order before implementing your productivity system. 
UCoPS and Lean tools then make your tidy house a better and 
more highly functioning property.
— 29 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
Lean Targets and Pitfalls
Britta is one of the candidates for the role of lean navigator. Britta is 
impressive, not just because of her obvious grasp of how to seek the 
benefits of Lean in the context of a rollout of a new productivity sys-
tem, but also in her quick and open assessment of potential dangers. 
She outlines the Lean targets: the elimination of waste, coupled with 
a production ethos centered on creating the right quality at the lowest 
possible cost. 
Britta believes the key potential dangers are:
• Lack of buy-in from skeptical staff or distracted management
• The confusion that can result, if the correct benchmarks, targets 
 or metrics are not clearly set from the beginning 
• The likelihood that everything that has been achieved can still be 
 lost, if the productivity program is not followed through
She also identifies clearly the pitfalls of trying to do too much, too 
quickly.
Gary is particularly swayed by her belief that a Lean implementation 
needs to be tailored to suit the particular requirements of the site and 
its staff. Britta explains that, in her approach, each site will target 
the tools best suited to improving the key tasks carried out on that 
site, while each employee will get the training that precisely addresses 
what they need to know to do their job. 
“Train everyone, but at the right level, is my belief, from the most 
junior person on the floor to the lean multiplier and plant manager,” 
Britta says. Everyone gets the training they need. And the site gets the 
tools it needs, too. 
She says, for example, that some sites may need to focus heavily 
on reducing their changeover times, while this may not be an issue 
for others. Identify and select the techniques that will deliver the 
improvements you are looking for and that mirror the site’s specific 
improvement goals. Do not force all the techniques available on 
— 30 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
every site.” Gary can see clearly that Britta’s practical and flexible 
interpretation of Lean—combined with her essential floor-level 
experience—will make a convincing impact at plant level. She gets 
the job.
Lean Mentality 
With Britta firmly on board, she and Gary have more time and oppor-
tunity to explore her concept of Lean and how she intends to tackle 
the early stages of UCoPS. First, Britta explains that too many people 
are unjustifiably worried by the whole idea of Lean: “There is nothing 
complicated or mystical about its essential principles. At its core, Lean 
builds on simple common sense and makes the most of it.” She admits 
that there are many definitions of Lean, but says it can most simply be 
described as “the systematic and continued elimination of waste.” “In 
fact, all the rest, 5S, Six Sigma, Just in Time (JIT) and so on are only 
tools. The real principle is no waste, be it of time, energy, raw materi-
als or anything else” Britta says.
By stamping out waste, creating better flow and centering production 
around the needs of the customer anyone can have the fundamentals 
of a Lean business, Britta insists.
Top Tip—Lean Mentality
 
The Lean mentality is very much about structural problem-solving 
and continuous improvement. In a manufacturing context: 
• Always look for opportunities to fix the underlying causes 
 of waste, inflexibility, lack of flow, etc.—don’t just fix the issue 
 at hand.
• Even if a process is running well, ask yourself if it could run 
 better. 
— 31 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
Remember that “waste” is not just what we throw away—it is 
anything that uses time, effort or resources without helping to 
achieve a product or service that the customer wants and is willing 
to pay for.
Lean Manufacturing—the Basic 
Principles
Lean is generally recognized as rejecting traditional production-model 
thinking that goods must be either high quality and high cost, or low 
quality and low cost. With Lean the goal is the right quality at the 
lowest possible cost. Consequently, if the customer hasn’t requested 
it, you do not produce it. As far as possible, Lean aims to produce 
to order, providing customers with precisely what they want, when 
and where they want it, at the lowest possible cost and with minimal 
waste along the way.
From Britta’s perspective, the other basic premise for a successful 
Lean implementation is to move toward a “path of perfection” 
through a succession of many small steps, with each measured and 
monitored along the way. 
Lean may have simplicity at its core, but aiming for perfection isn’t 
easy, Britta adds. When it comes to tackling the tangible challenges of 
improving operations, there are some uniquely Lean principles that 
differentiate it from traditional models. 
The Lean manufacturing approach focuses completely on the custom-
er’s perspective when examining product value. By understanding and 
identifying what creates customer value, we can then concentrate on 
eliminating, as far as possible, anything in UCo’s production process 
that does not add value to our products in the eyes of the customers.
This way of thinking differs from a traditional manufacturing approach 
in several key ways, Britta points out. Lean sees the traditional practice 
— 32 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
of satisfying customer orders from stock and adjusting stock levels 
according to forecast demand as inexact and wasteful. Better to trigger 
production according to orders, as required, and have a team that 
works flexibly—that can then adjust factors such as operating time, 
manning levels and shift schedules—as demand dictates.
In a Lean manufacturing context, waste has a wider meaning than 
“trash” or physical waste that you throw away. Waste also applies to 
anything that does not directly achieve what the customer is willing 
to pay for in a product—this can also mean the waste of using time 
or resources to pursue levels of quality that exceed what the customer 
needs or wants. Or holding stock the customer does not ask for. 
The target is to deliver the right product, the desiredproduct—with 
minimum expenditure, she reminds them. A process is “value adding”, 
if the customer wants or needs it and is willing to pay UCo for doing it.
1.
Identify
Value
2.
Map the
Process
5.
Continuously
Eliminate
Successive 
Layers of
Waste
3.
Create
Process 
Flow 
4.
Establish
Customer
“Pull”
Lean Manufacturing Principles
— 33 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
AC
T
C
H
ECK D
O
PLAN
Plan: develop a plan with 
 expected results
Do: implement
Check: what was achieved 
 versus what was 
 expected
Act: review, refine and 
 do it again
Toolkit—Lean Manufacturing Principles
 
 
The Lean manufacturing approach centers on five key principles: 
1. Understand and specify what creates value within the 
 operation from a customer’s perspective.
2. Identify all of the process steps in the operation. Where possible, 
 eliminate those that do not create value.
3. Make these “value adding” process steps flow as smoothly 
 as possible.
4. Produce only what is required—or “pulled”—by the customer.
5. Eliminate waste in ALL its forms.
Toolkit—PDCA
 
Lean is about creating flow and producing what the customer 
wants, be it a manufactured product or a service, as efficiently as 
possible, while eliminating waste. All of this can be based on the 
simple “Plan, Do, Check, Act” (PDCA) cycle. The basis for ALL 
improvement is founded on this:
— 34 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
Starting Right
Gary is growing more and more confident that Britta has both the 
technical knowledge and the people skills to make a success of the 
program. But he is still concerned about getting the early stages right, 
given the size and diversity of the company and the need to show 
early progress.
UCo has too many sites to implement its system using the traditional 
approach of a three-month “diagnose, design, implement”-type 
project without incurring high costs or spending too much time on 
implementation. Together, they review the options. Gary is relieved 
to find that Britta completely shares his view that, in a multinational 
manufacturing business with both large and small sites and highly 
variable skills and practices, they need to learn to walk before they run.
Lean Lite
Gary and Britta discuss the merits of first implementing a “Lean Lite” 
approach. Although Lean Lite has Lean principles firmly at the core, 
it also allows sites to reach a good standard swiftly and move toward 
perfection later. They agree that an implementation like this, tailored 
to each site, is the best way forward.
Their Lean Lite approach means that, instead of following the 
textbooks with a fully fledged Lean implementation over several 
months at any one site, they can pick the most relevant and useful 
Lean tools to secure low-hanging fruit and ensure rapid uptake of the 
essentials.
They decide to start at the UCo site in Argentina, because it is appro-
priately challenging and demanding and not a simple, easy fix. Britta 
will use the initial rollout there to develop simple-to-use manuals and 
instructions for dispersing across all sites, combined with high-level 
training for managers. The aim is to achieve full implementation of 
relevant tools at key sites, while ensuring that some implementation 
and good groundwork is carried out across all sites.
— 35 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
Groundwork at the Pilot Site
To get the UCoPS program started, Britta makes plans for her first 
visit to the site in Argentina. Gary wants to observe the start of the 
UCoPS process also and decides to travel with her, so that he can 
introduce her to the site manager there, Alejandro, and ensure that he 
is also visible and supportive from the start. The long flight will also 
give Gary a chance to discuss with her in greater detail what Britta 
will be looking for on this visit and how she intends to introduce 
Lean.
The site in Argentina has been chosen for a number of reasons—it 
has a sound operational infrastructure, but also plenty of scope for 
improvement. On top of that, it has had problems not consistently 
delivering on time in full (OTIF) to its customers. Gary believes that 
Alejandro is the right kind of site manager to host UCo’s maiden Lean 
program. He possesses operational common sense, he has always had 
a keen eye for how to improve ways of working and he is ready to 
listen to anyone with a good idea. It is one of the company’s largest 
and most complex sites and, Gary says: “If they can do it here, they 
can do it anywhere.”
Back on the ground in Argentina, Gary and Britta head to the site 
and meet with Alejandro. Gary introduces UCoPS to Alejandro to 
ensure his buy-in but also lets him know that implementation will be 
mandatory across the company. Britta then briefs Alejandro about 
Lean thinking and the way it applies to normal plant processes. As 
Gary had hoped, Alejandro is not only receptive, but keen to point 
out how compatible it is to his own way of thinking. He says he has 
always considered keeping an eye open for small adjustments that 
create significant improvements as a fundamental part of the job.
By way of example, Alejandro relates a story from a test facility at the 
site. Here, product samples were regularly prepared for quality testing 
on a rolling cart, bearing several levels of trays. Filling each level tray 
with nine boxes of measured samples and then sending it to the lab 
was a regular routine. One day, a member of staff suddenly stepped 
up and asked:
— 36 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
“Could the size of the boxes be changed slightly, so that more 
samples could fit on each tray?” One quick and simple alteration to 
the existing system and they were able to set up twelve samples per 
tray—a thirty-three percent rise in efficiency that added up to real 
savings over the course of a busy year. A clear case of thinking outside 
the box!
It’s easy for Alejandro to quickly grasp the practical aspects of Lean 
thinking. Its simplicity makes him appreciative of Lean’s power to 
initiate positive change in a systematic way. His previous experience 
makes him quick to see the wisdom of using a structured framework, 
and the potential benefits of injecting common-sense thoughts and 
working procedures into an organized system.
Top Tip—Choosing Where to Start
 
Be ambitious. Take a meaningful and challenging location as your 
test site. This will then serve as a model that you can use both for 
the continuous development of your productivity-system and as 
an example of best practice to other sites awaiting their turn. 
Do not start with an easy-fix, unrepresentative site. Yes, there is 
always that temptation to play safe, trying to ensure that, if things 
go wrong, at least it’s not an important site. But this mindset 
brings its own problems. It shows a lack of commitment and 
belief in the system. Also, a small-scale success does not provide a 
convincing or compelling case that suggests the system will work 
on the larger, more complex or strategically important site. It 
encourages the belief that success was purely due to the site being 
small and simple to fix. Or, worse still, that it was such a mess it 
had to get better, no matter what you did!
So, the advice is to design your system well, believe in it yourself 
and go for one of the most challenging sites from the outset. 
— 37 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
 
Top Tip—80-20
 
You typically get 80% of the performance from 20% of the tools. 
In any system, you should start with the tools with the 
highest improvement potential and save the more advanced 
and complicated techniques for later. Always simplify Lean 
implementation to whatis appropriate for the site complexity. 
Do not treat your site as if it is a Toyota car plant—it is definitely 
different and probably significantly simpler, too.
Waste Walk
On the first day in Argentina, Britta suggests that Gary and Alejandro 
accompany her on a waste walk, one of the simplest ways to get 
acquainted with some of the fundamental Lean concepts. She explains 
that this should take no more than half an hour, and they will only 
need to be armed with the most basic and essential of Lean tools, a 
notebook and camera. In many respects, this will feel like a safety 
walk, a common type of inspection where a manager will tour a site 
to observe and discuss safe working practices, but now the group 
will be looking for inefficiencies, rather than potential hazards. This 
takes no real training, just an understanding of the seven wastes. Or, 
as Britta calls it, a quick introduction to “Tim Wood,” an acronym to 
help people remember all seven of these wastes. 
The Seven Wastes
The seven wastes that the group are looking to identify on the 
checklist during the waste walk fall under the following categories:
• Transportation
• Inventory
• Motion of people
• Waiting time
— 38 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
• Overproduction
• Overprocessing
• Defects
As they undertake the waste walk, Britta talks Gary and Alejandro 
through examples of the seven wastes they are observing: cases where 
ingrained working habits could qualify as minor, but clear examples 
of waste and of working practices that can easily be improved. 
Alejandro mentions a fairly common situation where irritation levels 
rise steeply on the shop floor when workers are losing time, trying 
to find equipment that has not been returned to its proper place. He 
also notes that the “proper place” could be much closer to where 
this equipment is used most often. It would be simple to solve this by 
establishing a new location for storing tools, saving time, avoiding 
pointless wandering around and thereby reducing motion, one of the 
seven wastes.
$ $ $
Transpor-
tation
InventoryDefects
Motion
Waiting
Over-
production
Over-
processing The Seven Wastes
— 39 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
 
Toolkit – The Seven Wastes
 
The Seven Wastes Checklist: 
Transportation—A typical example of this type of waste is 
inefficient moving of things around the site. This could include 
forklift trucks with too small a load capacity, resulting in them 
needing to make more runs. Poor flow or site layout can also 
result in things having to be moved long distances—for example, 
packaging too far away from packing lines or raw materials too 
distant from the production unit.
Inventory—In simple Lean terms: stock is waste. The cause can be 
poor planning or forecasting, or poor purchasing. Inventory can 
also be in the form of too much work in progress. This may arise if 
a process is not balanced. For example, the packaging line cannot 
match the speed of the production unit. Another potential cause 
is inefficient quality-control procedures, resulting in a buildup of 
intermediate product waiting for inspection or analysis. 
Motion of people—This can also be caused by poor site or 
workplace layout, or poor ergonomics. Simple examples are 
toilets in the wrong place, essential tools not to hand, switches 
and control panels located inconveniently, etc. A poorly designed 
workplace layout will cause unnecessary motion for the people 
who work there. People should be at the center of the process 
where things are easy to see and easy to find with a minimum of 
movement.
Waiting time, delays—People waiting to do work. They could be 
waiting for product, waiting for more people (late staff), waiting 
for instructions, etc. Vehicles can be halted waiting to be loaded. 
Production-line imbalances also cause waiting time. 
Overproduction —We have already seen how this goes against the 
grain of Lean manufacturing. Producing more than is required to 
meet customer orders or demand is waste. And it also produces a 
waste of inventory!
— 40 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
Overprocessing—Producing something with overly high 
specifications. Some good examples of cutting this type of waste 
come from the automotive industry, such as fitting a lower spec 
carpet in the trunk, replacing etched switchgear with printed ones 
or replacing full-size spare tires with space-saver tires. 
Defects—Easy to spot. These can include product that is out of 
spec, out of date, wrong, scrap or needs reworking.
Britta is very pleased with this observation, takes a few photos with 
her camera and ticks this off as an example of a waste that can 
be solved immediately. She highlights that finding one example of 
waste that can be resolved with a swift and simple solution is an 
ideal component of a waste walk. Britta points out that improving 
transportation can also fix waste in the form of motion. For example, 
moving product closer to its next stage of operation, rather than 
requiring people to take time to transport it where next needed, not 
only eliminates wasted motion, but also lessens the risk of product 
damage or accidents through reduced handling. 
As their tour continues, Alejandro notices that a storage area not only 
needs better organization, so that components used can be located 
more quickly, but also contains items that are no longer in regular 
use.
Britta again takes a few snapshots with her camera, as Alejandro 
finds more examples of waste. Photographs help to make examples 
clearer and also act as a first step in preparing visual aids to illustrate 
improved methods. They provide the material for before-and-after 
depictions of how processes should be done. Remember, she says, it 
is always best to ask permission before taking a photo of someone—
they could get upset otherwise, and if you ask they rarely refuse.
When the trio get to their final destination, a storage area for finished 
products, Britta asks Alejandro if they are seeing an outwardly 
normal and orderly procedure that could still be disguising potential 
improvements. For example, is the amount of inventory a sign of 
— 41 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
overproduction? Perhaps too much is being produced too early and 
production is not optimally aligned with order pull? Or perhaps the 
storeroom is holding products that have been delayed in delivery? 
Maybe some of the products have been found to be either faulty or 
not exactly what the customer wanted?
Alejandro and Gary think these questions over as the three of them 
head back to the office. In just this short exercise, they have seen how 
many things can be improved by focused, common-sense thinking, 
and also how back-office planning impacts plant efficiency in subtle 
ways. 
Such exercises are, of course, pointless, if, following observation of 
the waste, you do not target elimination in a structured way. What 
you observe must be actioned. At the same time, don’t overload, but 
instead focus on the important, achievable issues. A good idea is to 
identify three things after each waste walk:
• One thing you will improve now
• One thing you will improve within one week
• One thing you will improve within one month.
Top Tip—Seven Wastes are Everywhere 
The structured elimination of the seven wastes can be applied to 
a warehousing situation, an office environment, transactional or 
support-service activities and many other work functions that 
are not necessarily manufacturing or operational in nature. The 
seven wastes provide a fairly simple but effective framework for 
identifying and eliminating waste everywhere.
— 42 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMCHAPTER 1
Top Tip—Inthe Picture
 
Camera, action! If you watch any experienced lean navigator in 
action, you will see that a camera is an essential part of his or 
her toolkit, because they know from experience that something 
noteworthy is bound to show up and they want to capture that 
moment. 
Also make sure you keep checklists. They are indispensable for 
doing waste walks or safety walks. They are also valuable when 
it comes to organizing operations, ensuring that everything is 
recorded and that everyone has access to the same information, 
with one agreed way of doing things. Well-constructed and 
-maintained checklists, reminding everyone on the shop floor 
how things should be done, can even save lives. A picture is 
also Lean. Nothing is truer, or leaner, than a picture that saves a 
thousand words.
Toolkit—The Waste Walk 
A waste walk is an easy introduction to basic Lean thinking. 
It also shows that positive changes can be spotted and fixed 
quickly. A waste walk is ideally done with a small group, but 
can be carried out alone. It should take about half an hour, focus 
on one designated area and combine observation with keeping 
the seven wastes in mind. Record all examples of waste, with a 
checklist and camera. Remember that even normal or essential 
parts of an operation may contain some wasteful elements that 
can be improved later. Finally, try to find at least one example of 
waste that can be corrected immediately, to show how simple and 
effective Lean can be.
— 43 —
UCO, ITS PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM CHAPTER 1
Observation
Waiting for Line Leader following toolbox talk.
O
ve
rp
ro
du
ct
io
n
Tr
an
sp
or
ta
tio
n
M
ot
io
n
W
ai
tin
g
P
ro
ce
ss
in
g
In
ve
nt
or
y
D
ef
ec
ts
S
af
et
y
En
vi
ro
nm
en
ta
l
S
pa
ce
En
er
gy
1
Empty pallets at end of line – not stored 
in the designated area.
2
2 pallets of packaging – floor marked out for 1 
(plus not in correct place).
3
Manually making boxes.4
Double taping box seams.5
Operative collecting own packaging. 
Line Stopped.
6
Cleaning equipment is without a designated 
area and difficult to locate when needed.
7
Manually placing filled bottles into boxes.8
Manually placing empty bottles onto filling line.9
Not utilizing vacuum lifter for manual 
handling tasks.
10
FLT in wrapping area – keys in and engine left 
running for +/- 15mins.
11
Unutilized powder bins.12
20-litre containers left out from previous 
production run. Should be returned to stock.
13
3 Operatives waiting for management
instruction.
14
Unidentified yellow cone in walkway.15
Layer pads for Line 2 stored in incorrect area. 
i.e. Pallet at end of Line 1. 
16
Line 1 – should vac lifter be used?17
Manually labeling packaging.18
Incorrectly positioned switches.19
Changeover tools not returned to shadow board.20
Waste Walk
Muda Category (Seven Wastes) Facility
UCo Waste Walk Sheet
— 44 —
THE BEGINNING
2.
Defining and 
Understanding 
the Core Lean 
Tools
— 44 —
— 45 —
BRITTA TAILORS THE EFFORT
To determine which of the Lean tools will be implemented at the 
Argentinian site, Gary asks Britta to compile an overview of the 
tools that she feels will be most relevant to UCo overall. Britta 
will present these to Alejandro and his team and agree on 
the techniques that they think will have the greatest value and 
benefit to the site. 
Britta suggests that the UCoPS should focus on the following 
tools:
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— 46 —
DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CORE LEAN TOOLSCHAPTER 2
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Britta decides her first priority will be to introduce the concept of 
workplace organization and the proven systematic approach known 
as 5S. She explains that 5S is a simple but very effective way to 
improve housekeeping, reduce all forms of waste, optimize resources 
and standardize the cleanliness of the workplace. Britta knows that 
good workplace organization will also have a direct and positive im-
pact on safety. A safe and productive workplace requires a structured 
and disciplined approach to housekeeping.
5S provides exactly the structured framework for systematic 
organization of the workplace and gets its name from the five steps 
to improvement:
1. Sort 
2. Set in order 
3. Shine
4. Standardize
5. Sustain
The 5S system aims to put “the house” in good order and keep it that 
way—this really is the first step to implementing a highly productive 
Lean culture within UCo. The benefits of 5S will also be directly felt 
by the employees themselves, as they will soon enjoy a safer and more 
pleasant working environment, have input into how the workplace 
should be organized and know exactly what is expected. 
So, let’s now look in more detail at each of the five steps as we follow 
the 5S route to improved workplace organization.
Sort is the first “S” and the obvious starting point when improving 
our workplace. This is the process of removing anything that is not 
required or necessary in the work area. If there are items that are not 
needed to get the work done, then these are simply taking up valuable 
space, getting in the way and possibly creating confusion. In this first 
5S step we must remove all that is not necessary by asking, Do we 
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DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CORE LEAN TOOLS CHAPTER 2
need this? When was it last used? Should it go somewhere else? Do 
we need to store these for so long? etc.
For any items that you feel might not be required, a useful technique 
during the sort phase is to make these items more visible by simply 
attaching a red tag. This immediately signifies in a highly visual way 
that someone questions why it is here. This allows us to keep track 
of our progress and we can set deadlines for deciding the fate of each 
item. 
Britta issues a final caveat. For some people, the act of throwing 
something away is counterintuitive! This has to be overcome at this 
initial stage—strong discipline is needed. Maintenance departments 
can often be particularly challenging in this regard.
Set in order is the next step (the second “S”) that can only be applied 
once we have removed all unneeded items during the sort process. 
Now we can arrange the placement and storage of the necessary 
Set in order: simple, but effective: everything in its place—visible and simple to access—and very 
easy to put things back in their proper place after they’ve been used. 
— 48 —
DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CORE LEAN TOOLSCHAPTER 2
items more efficiently by standardizing the naming of objects, using 
a system of colors for easy identification, identifying the contents of 
shelves, cabinets and tool racks. The objective is that there is a specific 
place for everything, and everything is in its correct place.
Britta then asks people to analyze how materials, tools and equipment 
are used, and works to arrange and locate items as efficiently as 
possible. The goal is to reduce time needed for storage and retrieval 
and to streamline routine activities. 
Shine is our third “S” and is centered on achieving thorough 
cleanliness of the workplace and the equipment. Because we already 
removed the unneeded items during the “sort” phase, we are able to 
focus our efforts and not waste time on cleaning items that are not 
required!
By keeping both equipment and the workspace clean we can improve 
access and reduce safety risks by removingpotential hazards. 
Cleanliness also allows for early identification of possible equipment 
problems and detection of faults. With a clean plant and equipment, 
things like oil leaks, product spillage and dust will be more visible 
and therefore noticed earlier. Cleanliness becomes everyone’s 
responsibility.
Standardize is the process by which we lock in the improvements that 
were made during the first three steps. This fourth “S” in the process 
requires us to fully define what is expected in terms of a clean and 
organized workplace. All stakeholders within the workplace must 
have the relevant knowledge, training and information to achieve this 
standard—all of which should supported by strong and clear visual 
management. 
Sustain is the discipline that ensures that workplace organization 
is fully embedded and becomes a habit—the way things are now 
done. This requires commitment from all stakeholders, not least the 
management. “I’m a big believer in weekly 5S management audits,” 
concludes Britta. “They also fully involve the people who work in the 
area.” Weekly 5S audits are a routine that allows for measurement 
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DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CORE LEAN TOOLS CHAPTER 2
of performance, which then plays a big part in sustaining the 
standardization effort. 
The benefits of using 5S will quickly become apparent, Britta 
promises. Correct and visible placement of equipment makes it less 
likely things will be lost or go missing. Clutter is removed, eliminating 
hazards and reducing the risk of accidents. Maintenance problems can 
be identified at an earlier stage, reducing production downtime due 
to mechanical breakdown, which means financial savings. Everyone 
takes responsibility for the cleanliness of their work area and their 
environment is more pleasant and less stressful to work in. 
Britta explains that a good approach is to divide the work area into 
zones and prioritize your attack. One advantage this brings is that 
you can designate a single trial area as “an island of excellence.” 
Once you have applied 5S to this location, you will have created a 
highly visible example of what can be achieved, establishing a clear 
benchmark that can be rolled out to other areas of the plant. 
Top Tip—Order First, Lean Afterwards
 
To reap the full benefits of Lean, make sure that your site is well 
maintained, with a proper infrastructure and good housekeeping 
in place. If improvements need to be carried out to bring the site 
up to an acceptable standard, implement a fast-track 5S as the 
first step. 5S, as outlined above, is simply a structured way of 
getting rid of what you don’t need, finding a suitable location for 
the important things, keeping the site clean and making sure it is 
then kept at that level.
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DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CORE LEAN TOOLSCHAPTER 2
 
Top Tip—Order at a Glance
Take a close look at your site. You can tell whether it is well 
run by this simple measure alone. Think about a professional 
carpenter’s shed where everything is in the right order on the wall, 
with outlines drawn to show what tool fits where, and labeled 
below. You always know where to find things, where to put 
them back after you have used them and what you have—and, 
therefore, don’t have. 
Compare that to the average DIY enthusiast’s toolbox. With 
things strewn everywhere, you have to look hard to find them. 
Who gets the job done quickest and with the least stress—and 
who would you hire? Good housekeeping is the backbone of any 
well-organized and efficient site and, combined with good visual 
management, makes a huge difference. Applied diligently, 5S is 
an excellent tool to ensure that your “house” is always in top 
condition. From that, all of the benefits Lean promises will follow. 
People like a tidy and clean place to work, and the advantages are 
indisputable. With some systems or techniques it may be necessary 
to argue the case for change against the old ways of doing things. 
However, it’s very hard for the dissenters to marshal a convincing 
argument for an untidy, dirty or unsafe workplace. A well-kept site 
will convey the fact that everything is under control, which makes 
a very good impression also on customers, visitors and regulatory 
inspectors. 
Britta continues that, in her experience, the plant will also see a 
reduction in working days lost due to accidents. She also thinks an 
increase in morale, and consequently productivity, is likely—as it 
is clear that employees appreciate the improvements made to their 
work environment.
In 5S, the real challenge will be the final “S”—Sustain—and hence 
that needs to be the key issue for management focus. 
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DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CORE LEAN TOOLS CHAPTER 2
 
Toolkit—Remembering 5S
 
Sort: Identify and remove all unneeded or unclaimed 
items from the workplace.
Set in order: Organize the items, tools, materials that are needed.
Shine: Thoroughly clean the work area.
Standardize: Develop visual standards, procedures, cleaning 
 schedules and an audit system. 
Sustain: Audit, monitor, correct … and if required, go back 
 to the first “S.”
5S
1
2
3
4
1. Sort 2. Set in Order
3. Shine5. Sustain
4. Standardize
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— 52 —
DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CORE LEAN TOOLSCHAPTER 2
 
Top Tip—Sustaining Housekeeping
 
How to Achieve the Fifth “S”: Sustain
You need to focus on three issues:
• Embedding the culture
• Leading by example
• And audit—just in case
Top Tip—Macro 5S 
 
Many see 5S primarily as a workplace organization tool—a 
system for creating and maintaining high standards of housekeep-
ing, cleanliness, etc., at site (or micro) level. But you can also “5S 
the organization” at macro level—from boardroom to executive 
office. For example, at the micro/factory level, the second “S” 
(set in order) could mean creating allocated areas for tools and 
equipment by using tool racks, floor markings, shadow boards 
and such. On a macro level, set in order could involve restructur-
ing the company’s plant and equipment footprint, simplifying a 
process or creating a new organizational structure, for example. 
At this stage, you are trying to achieve the same aim (whether mi-
cro or macro level) to establish a steady state or platform that you 
believe works and is safe, efficient and effective. From this steady 
state, you then progress to shine, standardize and sustain. 
Visual Management
Britta goes on to describe to Gary and Alejandro two other Lean 
tools that go hand in hand with 5S, often used to help implement the 
set, shine and standardize components in particular, namely visual 
management and standard work.
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DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CORE LEAN TOOLS CHAPTER 2
The first of these tools is visual management, which is the employ-
ment of visual indicators, displays and controls to improve and 
simplify the communication of key information. Examples include 
signage, labeling, status lights, notice boards, etc., making the rules, 
standards and status they illustrate immediately clear to everyone, 
thereby helping with workplace organization and fighting various 
types of waste.
Floor markings are another very simple and effective use of visual 
management to designate issues such as the correct location 
for equipment or the correct route for movement of people and 
machinery. You will need to make effective choices to balance the 
need for good information against the pitfall of sign pollution. 
Visual management also includes more detailed forms of posted infor-
mation, Britta adds. These can take the form of boards, charts, forms 
and so on to provide quick reference material that helps organize the 
workplace. Examples include charts showing who works in which 
area and when, productivity data, production schedules, maintenance